Feb 21, 2022 · 30m · news
How I Bought 12% of Google for $12M; How VC is Fixing Climate Change | John Doerr Full Interview · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of 20VC, legendary venture capitalist John Doerr joins host Harry Stebbings to discuss the evolution of climate tech investing, the application of Silicon Valley's OKR framework to the global climate crisis, and the timeless principles of venture capital and leadership.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 18.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Harry as informed peer 3.9 Guest teaching 5.7 Guest disagreement 1.7 Harry pushing back 2.6
speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 19:50 Doerr turns the question back on the host
Doerr challenges Harry directly by asking what he thinks the odds of success are after noting that planetary emissions have never decreased in history.
Hardest push from Harry ▶ 20:12 Stebbings questions optimism against government inactionHarry pushes back on Doerr's optimistic framework, asking how the plan can realistically work when key international governments refuse to cooperate.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:20 Venture portfolio math and power lawDoerr educates Harry on venture loss dynamics, explaining how a single win like Enphase covered six separate solar company failures.
Harry holds his own ▶ 28:23 Stebbings outlines SaaS expertiseHarry clearly demonstrates his specific domain mastery in enterprise SaaS and product-led growth to challenge the blanket necessity of VCs investing in climate.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Harry as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Harry pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venture Capital and Early Climate Bets | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | Harry asks why Kleiner Perkins established separate climate and pandemic funds. Doerr educates him on portfolio math, explaining how Enphase covered the losses of six failed solar investments. | |
| Market Timing and the Legendary Google Bet | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Harry uses insider context from a former partner to probe the risky Google bet. Doerr walks through the initial pitch, Larry Page's ten-billion revenue goal, and auction theory. | |
| Maintaining a Prepared Mind and Introducing 'Speed and Scale' | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | Harry quotes Mamoun Hamid on maintaining a prepared mind and references reading Speed and Scale. Doerr explains the transition in climate tech since 2006 and breaks down green premiums. | |
| An Action Plan with Measurable OKRs | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | Doerr delivers an extended monologue detailing the six primary objectives, 55 key results, and Andy Grove's OKR framework. Because Harry remains silent during this monologue, host scores are set to zero. | |
| The Role of Governments, Activism, and Public Sentiment | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | Harry presses Doerr on how climate goals can succeed against uncooperative foreign governments. Doerr turns the question around, forcing Harry to acknowledge that global carbon emissions have never once decreased. | |
| Active Listening, Board Dynamics, and Recruitment | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Harry asks about active listening, board weight, and recruiting tactics. Doerr gently reframes Harry's premise, noting that people overstate the influence of board members. | |
| Proudest Unsung Investments and Advice for SaaS Investors | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | Harry uses his deep knowledge of SaaS to question whether non-specialist VCs should invest in climate. Doerr confirms not every fund should be a climate fund and advises applying SaaS models to climate software. |
Statements from this episode (13)
Doerr: Kleiner Perkins turned $1B in climate investments into $3B
“Over the course of three or four funds, we invested about a billion dollars in 70 or so climate-related investments. Those investments On an as-of-held basis today are worth about three billion dollars.”
Doerr: Enphase gains covered Kleiner's losses across six failed solar investments
“We invested in seven solar companies. The Chinese crushed six of them, all six of which made solar panels. The seventh one made microinverters. It's name is Enphase, and the gains from Enphase made up for the losses across all the rest of the solar investments”
Doerr: Kleiner Perkins bought 12% of Google for $12 million
“Twelve million dollars bought 12% of Google, which is today as a company worth several trillion dollars.”
Doerr: The planet will never be cooler than it is today
“This is a new abnormal, and it's going to get worse In the best of all possible cases. The planet will never be cooler tomorrow than it is today.”
Doerr: The climate crisis is the greatest economic opportunity this century
“And I do think that this Climate crisis is, ah, the greatest opportunity of our lifetimes. It'll be the greatest opportunity of the coming century.”
Doerr: EVs will reach price parity in the US by 2024
“This is key result one dot one to achieve price performance parity with internal combustion engine vehicles in the US by 2024. That means they cost 35,000 dollars and in India and China importantly by 2030 where the cost target has to be 11,000 dollars.”
Doerr: Direct air carbon capture is currently wildly expensive and uneconomic
“Today it's wildly expensive and uneconomic.”
Doerr: Governments are the biggest obstacle to solving the climate crisis
“The governments are the biggest problem. And if the governments don't change, if they don't up the level of ambition and urgency, simply put, we're screwed. We will not succeed.”
Doerr: Great board members bring three to five questions to every meeting
“What I've long believed is that the best thing a good board member can do is. Bring three to five questions for a meeting. Have maybe half of those be questions that the team hasn't thought about, and have one of them be truly useful. So I think being a good b…”
Doerr: Kleiner Perkins turned a $29M Enphase investment into $1B
“We invested, Kleiner did, twenty-nine million dollars in Enphase. Ben Cordlang led the investment for our partnership. That 29 million dollar investment Today is worth a billion dollars, and it is the leading maker of microinverters.”
Doerr: Amazon almost ran out of cash after going public
“That, by the way, was true also of Amazon. Amazon almost ran out of cash after it was public as well.”
Shorts cut from this episode
▶ The $10B Tech Pitch That Changed Everything 🤯 #shorts · 20V (@6:04)
▶ Imagine Buying 12% of Google 🤯 #shorts · 20VC with Harry St (@4:41)
▶ The pitch Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin gave in (@6:04)
▶ Scariest Statistic You’ve Ever Heard — John Doerr · 20VC wit (@19:14)
▶ Google's First Pitch to Investors 🔍💰 · 20VC with Harry Ste (@6:04)
▶ BILLIONAIRE John Doerr's Most Underrated Investment 😲💰 #sh (@26:43)
▶ The scariest statistic you’ve ever heard. 😱 #shorts · 20VC (@19:14)
▶ POV: You bought 12% of Google in 1999 · 20VC with Harry Steb (@4:41)